Herein I make my (simple) case for why Masai should be in the running for this award:
- Lost 3 players to China, all former starters/important rotation players (Smith, Martin, Chandler)
- Jettisoned Felton for Andre Miller (Felton is playing like garbage this year by all accounts)
- Acquired Rudy Fernandez and Corey Brewer, both now important rotation players, for only a second round pick
- Picked Kenneth Faried and Jordan Hamilton in the draft, acquired Julyan Stone as undrafted rookie
- Extended Nene, extended Afflalo, extended Gallinari, extended Koufus, all with reasonable contracts
Most teams that lose a player of Carmelo's caliber get significantly worse for a long while, not significantly better, as the Nuggets have. Ujiri has made the most of the assets he got in the NY trade and continues to make sound GM decisions that improve the Nuggets. I'm thrilled he's GM, and he should be as much in the conversation as any GM is.
